OT: 230v welder wiring, using a dryer circuit Options

[bondo]

I just got a millermatic 175 welder. 230v, 19.5 amps. I'm going to make an extension cord for it and was wondering what guage wire I should use. Is 12ga enough? (going about 30 feet, just enough to get all the way around the garage, and into the driveway a bit)


Also, the dryer outlet is neutral grounded. Should I use it as is or add a second outlet with a real ground?

[jd74914]

QUOTE (r_towle @ Jan 16 2006, 11:58 AM)

the industry has changed from 3 wire to four wire. Im MASS, the code now calls for 4 wire. Get a flexible wire... I run 100 FT of extension for my 220 machinery. With the welder, it does draw alot more amps while running than a typical machine due to how it is using the electricity. I would say that you hard wire it to as close as you can with the stiffer 8 or 10 guage so you experience less voltage drop. You will feel the voltage drop, and you would notice it more if you were starting a larger motor on a saw/mill. With this voltage drop your welder will perform less than it should. The hard wire larger guage will let the voltage to flow easier. Think of it like water...it flows better through a larger pipe. With less resistance you will have a better solution. then you can plug the welder in directly to a plug. Wire it directly to the circuit box, it will be a better solution. Rich

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/agree.gif)

Just hardwire it and be done once and for all. We finished wiring our garage a few weeks ago and just put in special 50A outlet and breaker in the panel for the welder. Much safer than a huge extension cord and less voltage draw. IIRC we used 8ga wire to link the outlet to the panel. Nice and easy and now we can forget about it. No cords to trip over. Its very simple to do and much easier to run than the four strands of #1 wire that were run from the house to the garage. Pulling those things are hard, wiring a simple outlets not bad and it saves lots of trouble in the future. It should be comprable pricewise to and cord you could make because you only need to buy one plug as opposed to 2 for an extension cord, and then you just need a breaker on top of that and the same length of wire. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/cool.gif)

Also, like Clayton said earlier, ground and neutral are 2 different things, don't run them together. Ground is ground whereas neutral measures current loss for GFI breakers so that they blow when the current loss it too great, like when you are dancing because you are getting electricuted. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/dry.gif)

In any case, go by building code and be safe, that much voltage can hurt really bad (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif)